How Tom Cruise helped Simon Pegg deal with the pressures of fame
Actor Simon Pegg has one of the most recognisable faces of all the British film stars. He first came to the public’s attention after appearing in the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced, which he co-wrote with Jessica Stevenson. Since then, he has collaborated several times with director Edgar Wright, appearing in his films Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End, also known as the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy.
The success of Pegg on the British scene led to offers in the United States. He has performed in the science fiction comedy Paul and well as portraying Scotty in the Star Trek revival films, following up on the science fiction theme by appearing in Star Wars: The Forces Awakens.
Pegg recently appeared on an episode of Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio, in which he discussed his fame and how Tom Cruise helped him to deal with the pressures that naturally arise from suddenly being thrown into the limelight. Pegg has appeared alongside Cruise in a number of Mission: Impossible films.
“He loves it, and he really relishes it,” Pegg said. “It’s all he knows. It energises him, and it spurs him on. I don’t think I would appreciate that particularly: I’d find it very stressful and overwhelming, and it would make me want to retreat. I’m happy with where I am.” Evidently, seeing the way Cruise approaches his fame showed Pegg that such a life was not for him.
Pegg continued, telling an anecdote of his time on set with the actor, “We joke about it – I always make fun of him for the things that he can access. We were filming in South Africa recently on this mountain in the morning, and then [Tom] decided he wanted to go and swim with sharks.”
“So he took us and flew us in a helicopter to this seaside part of South Africa, and we had this bespoke trip out and dived with sharks,” Pegg added. “And at the end of the day, we were driving back and going, ‘That was a real Tom Cruise kind of day, wasn’t it?’ And you know, he kind of appreciates the ridiculousness of it sometimes.”
Pegg then further opened up on his relationship with Cruise, claiming, “My relationship with him is just very simple and amiable. It’s always been a very easy relationship. I think you realise; when you meet the person rather than the thicket of mythology that’s built up around them, it’s a different experience.”
